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New Syria resolution would OK force if talks fail

WASHINGTON – The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Wednesday he is working on new congressional authorization for Syria that would link the use of force with the failure to achieve a

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Wednesday that he is working on a new congressional resolution for Syria that would link the use of force with the failure to achieve a political solution eliminating Bashar Assad's chemical weapons stockpiles.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., made the remarks a day after President Obama said he would postpone seeking authorization for a military strike to give a diplomatic solution a chance to work.

Obama had faced an uphill battle to win congressional approval for a missile strike aimed at Syria to punish the regime for its use of chemical weapons on Aug. 21.

"What we are working on is a way of linking the authorization directly to the discussions that are taking place and the possibility of a political resolution with the Syrians agreeing to remove all of the chemical weapons," Levin told a group of military journalists.

Levin said he believed such a resolution would have a better chance of winning congressional approval, but he said the language was still being worked out and he declined to predict when it might come up for a vote.

Levin said he considers the resolution to be more appealing than the original proposal authorizing force, since the ultimate goal now would be the complete elimination of Assad's chemical weapons.

The goal of a military strike would have been to deter Assad from using chemical weapons and to degrade his military.

The Russians have floated a proposal that would have Syria relinquish all of its chemical weapons to international inspectors. Syria said it would cooperate.

Obama has said it is too early to tell if the proposal would work, but he said it was the threat of a military strike that has given the Russian plan momentum.

Levin said the proposal he is working on would keep the military threat viable.

"It would help keep the pressure on for a political resolution," Levin said.

Understanding Syria: A visual guide to the latest crisis in the middle east

Syria, once the center of the Islamic empire, has been the scene of many conquests throughout history before its present incarnation as a dictatorship led by a small Shiite Muslim sect battling a rebellion of Sunni Muslims. As a result, this land of mountains, fertile plains and desert is home to many ethnicities and religious groups.